


Right Hand Man

by amoleofmonsters



Series: Sheith Month 2018 Fics [10]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-13
Updated: 2018-07-13
Packaged: 2019-06-09 22:31:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15277581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amoleofmonsters/pseuds/amoleofmonsters
Summary: "Ever since Keith first met Shiro, he chose him."--For Sheith Month 2018 Day 12: Choices





	Right Hand Man

**Author's Note:**

> Follow me on tumblr at sharkrinsoup.tumblr.com

Ever since Keith first met Shiro, he chose him. At first the choices were subconscious. At thirteen, there was no way that Keith would have known that he would spend the rest of his life loving Takashi Shirogane, but when he’d suggested Keith apply for the Garrison, Keith listened. Keith listened, even though he never listened to anybody. 

After arriving at the Garrison, Keith didn’t make many friends. He easily reached the top of the class, but most of his classmates were either intimidated by his skills or put off by his sulky demeanor. This suited Keith just fine because whenever he was feeling particularly sad or lonely, he could rely on Shiro to be there for him. 

He chose to spend time with Shiro. Shiro understood why Keith couldn’t find commonalities with his peers that had parents and siblings and something to go home to when the Garrison wasn’t in session. 

He wouldn’t have ever chosen for Shiro to go on the Kerberos mission, that much is true, but it wasn’t his choice to make. Shiro had a giant smile on his face when he told Keith that he’d been chosen; Keith squashed his feeling of betrayal and congratulated him. Even at sixteen, Keith wasn’t stupid enough to ever try and keep Shiro from living his dream. If the mission was a success, it would jumpstart Shiro’s career.

If the mission had been a success that is, because it wasn’t. The second Keith heard he chose anger and betrayal. He chose to fight anyone and anything in order to get answers. He wasn’t proud of his choice, but Shiro hadn’t been there to stop him. As far as Keith was aware, Shiro was dead. 

After being kicked out of the Garrison, Keith didn’t have many choices. His only choice was to return to his dad’s old shack and stay there. It didn’t matter to him because any choice that didn’t have him by Shiro’s side wasn’t a choice he wanted to make. Thankfully, some otherworldly being must have heard him because Shiro crashed back down to Earth. Keith didn’t know how or why, but it didn’t matter. Keith chose to stand by Shiro’s side once more. He chose to pilot the Red Lion of Voltron because it meant choosing to stand at Shiro’s side as his right hand man. 

When Shiro disappeared again, Keith felt like he had been dropped back into his dad’s shack, his choices once more stripped from him. It was obvious that he had only one option: look for Shiro until he found him or die trying. And he did, oh he did. He looked wide and far throughout the entire galaxy until he finally found him in a small ship in the middle of nowhere. Keith couldn’t fathom how Shiro could have possibly ended up there, but it didn’t matter because he’d done it, he’d found him. 

But this wasn’t the Shiro that Keith knew. Keith couldn’t put his finger on it, but there was something off about Shiro. He chose to push the thought down. Whatever had happened to Shiro while he’d disappeared must have affected him. It was selfish of Keith to expect Shiro to be the same. Keith chose to give the Black Lion back to Shiro, refused to accept the Black Lion’s rejection of Shiro. Eventually, in order to cement what he knew was true, that Shiro was the Black Lion’s true Paladin, Keith chose to leave. He chose to permanently join the Blade of Marmora. This way, Shiro could still be the leader they needed and Keith could still play a part in what seemed to be a never-ending war. 

Being with the Blade of Marmora let Keith forget that he couldn’t be by Shiro’s side. The rage and loneliness that was there whenever Shiro was gone was still there, but this time he could channel it into missions and plans. The Blade of Marmora was possibly the only group that wouldn’t ask questions about Keith’s reckless behavior. They just gave him orders and lectured him if he messed up. It was the perfect way to nurture his broken heart. 

Broken heart or not, Keith was still willing to sacrifice his life for Shiro’s. Over and over, Keith did all that he could to ensure that Shiro was safe and sound. He risked his life over and over, chose to do it because his life has no meaning if Shiro isn’t in it. He chose to continue in this manner until he finally, after so many years of thinking he was a lost orphan, ran into his mother. Over the course of two years, Keith began to remember what it was like to have someone other than Shiro to cares about him. Keith chose to expand his inner circle. Keith chose to return to Shiro not as his right hand man, but as his equal. 

He returned, only to discover that it didn’t matter. The Shiro he had known was long dead; the Shiro he’d found floating in space was a clone wearing Shiro’s face, a clone that tried to kill him and broke Keith apart piece by piece. Standing on that Galra ship surrounded by all of Shiro’s clones, Keith felt like he was out of choices. He felt like he had already failed Shiro and thus, he was more than ready to die with him. “I love you,” had passed through his lips and he was more certain of it than he had been certain of anything in his life. 

The Black Lion had other plans and Keith had never been more thankful in his life. Even though Shiro’s body was dead, the Black Lion had kept his spirit alive. Cradling the clone’s body, Keith watched Allura transport Shiro’s soul into it. At times, it had seemed hopeless, but Keith had chosen to keep fighting. Keith had chosen to never give up on Shiro and now, he was finally holding the man in his arms. As Shiro opened his eyes, Keith felt his heart burst in his chest. 

In that moment, Keith chose to love Shiro with everything that he had.


End file.
